Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Jamal Roberts with the American Idol judges and host Ryan Seacrest after being named the Season 23 champ. (ABC Photo)

American Idol producers must be pretty happy with the way Season 23 turned out.

Not only did the show trounce The Voice when the singing shows went head-to-head this spring.

But in a time of declining TV ratings because of streaming options, Idol actually improved its finale rating.

Sunday’s show, which culminated in Jamal Roberts’ victory, scored a 0.72 rating among 18 to 49 year olds, the show’s best all season with the exception of a brief post-Oscar sneak peek.

The estimated audience for the finale was 6.51 million, which would be 15 percent more than the 5.64 million who watched Abi Carter defeat Will Moseley last spring.

Last year’s finale had a 0.7 rating among 18 to 49 year olds.

Idol condensed its schedule for Season 23, starting in early March rather than mid-February and doubling up on Sunday and Monday episodes more often than in recent seasons.

Ryan Seacrest said on air that the number of vote cast in this year’s finale set a record since the show moved to ABC for Season 16, so it’ll be interesting to watch the schedule Idol rolls out for Season 24 in 2026.

Idol Season 23 finale: 0.72 rating, 6.51 million viewers

Idol Season 22 finale: 0.7 rating, 5.64 million viewers

Idol Season 21 finale: 0.8 rating, 6.62 million viewers